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Best laptops for students in 2025: our top tested picks for uni, college and school

The best budget laptops, ultra lightweight laptops, and laptops for essay writing or creative subjects – based on our expert lab tests
Oliver TrebilcockSenior researcher & writer
Best laptops for students

In our guide to the best laptops for students, we explain what you need to know if you're buying a laptop for university, college or school. Plus, we recommend the best student laptops depending on your course and what you need your laptop to do.

We've also got expert advice on how to make your money go further and get the best student laptop for your budget. And we tell you where to look for student laptop and software deals, and the laptops to avoid as they're a waste of money.


See our top picks of the best laptops for all budgets and needs


Best laptops for students

Here we feature the best student laptops, covering Apple, Windows and Chromebooks, that we think will suit most students. We feature models at various prices, so you can pick the right model for your budget.

Many courses predominantly involve using word processing software for writing essays, presentation software and maybe spreadsheets, as well as email and web browsing. This means you won't need a really powerful laptop: an all-rounder, rather than an ultra high spec laptop, will do the job. 

If your course will require more specialised, resource-hungry software, such as for media courses or design and engineering, keep scrolling to see our recommendations for more powerful laptops.

Logged-in Which? members will see our pick of the best student laptops for various prices, so you can get the right model for your budget. 

Not yet a Which? member? You can join Which? to get instant access to our expert recommendations, plus all of our online reviews - including laptops, antivirus software and phones. 

  • Looking for something else? We've tested more than 200 laptops, so you're sure to find a model that best suits you. See our laptop reviews to compare.
  • Need more advice on deciding what to buy? See all of our expert laptop advice.

Best budget laptops for students

Be careful when choosing a laptop under £500. Many might seem fine at first, but once you start opening multiple browser tabs and programs, some models will become painfully slow and distract you from your studies. 

Below we've selected models that focus on what matters. They're not the fastest, and some (especially the Chromebooks) will have less storage space. The build quality might be a bit plasticky, too. That said, they'll work for you if you mainly use Office-style programs, send emails and do light web browsing. These aren't suitable for more demanding tasks, such as photo editing or opening lots of apps or browser tabs at the same time. 

If you're looking at models below £300, we'd strongly advise considering a Chromebook, as you'll get a better performance for the limited hardware you get at this price. Check the apps you need are supported by ChromeOS. You don't want to get caught out if there's software you need for your course that isn't compatible.

Apple MacBooks aren't available at this price point – check out our guide to refurbished laptops to find out how you can cut costs.

Laptops for students by price

Best ultra lightweight laptops for students

Small laptops weighing under 1.5kg are known as ultrabooks – choose one with a good battery life and you'll have a truly portable device that you can easily take out and about. 

Below we've gone a step further, selecting laptops weighing under 1.3kg (equivalent to around eight medium-sized apples). So you won't feel the strain if you're carrying it with you all day. 

Powerful light laptops can be expensive, though. So if an ultrabook isn't necessary for you, look elsewhere and save money.

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Best student laptops for essay writing and research

If your work will predominantly be making notes and writing essays, you won’t need a powerful laptop. In fact, you can get away with spending less.

That said, research can involve having lots of different documents or browser tabs open at the same time, so you may wish to go for something more than a budget laptop to avoid any slowdown. 

If that's the case, consider 16GB Ram rather than 8GB. Some models that come with 8GB as standard can be bought with 16GB, and most brands do not charge much more for this (Apple does, but the 2025 MacBook Air fortunately now comes with 16GB as standard).

Best laptops for creative and engineering students

If your course involves editing multimedia or 3D work – such as media production, audio production, architecture, engineering software or fashion design – you’ll benefit from picking a pricier laptop.

These have higher-end specs that step up to the plate whenever you need them to, whether that's editing in Photoshop or using modelling software. The other benefit of these laptops is that you can use them for gaming (particularly if it has a dedicated graphics card) – perfect for a bit of downtime. 

A dedicated graphics card can help 3D modelling and gaming run as smoothly as possible. Our reviews will say if a laptop has one, and some of the models mentioned below may be available in a higher specification that includes a dedicated graphics card.

Intel Core 5 (or i5) or AMD Ryzen 5 processors are the bare minimum if you want a smooth experience editing multimedia projects – consider an Intel Core 7/i7, AMD Ryzen 7 or Snapdragon X.


Got your heart set on a MacBook? Find out which one is the best MacBook for your needs and budget, plus which retailers have the best prices


Laptops to avoid

Not all laptops are created equal. Here are some models that don't score well in our tests and aren’t worth your money.

What type of laptop is good for students?

Best notebook laptop for students

Consider exactly how you will use your laptop, and focus on what's most important for your needs. That way, you can save money by knowing where to compromise.

  1. What's the battery life? If you’re going to be out at classes all day, and you can’t guarantee you’ll have access to a plug socket, you’ll want a laptop that can manage at least eight hours of battery life. Use the results of our realistic tests that mimic normal use to make sure you pick one that's up to the job.
  2. Does it need to be light? If you need to commute with your laptop, you’ll want one that weighs less than 1.5kg so it's not a burden to carry. Very lightweight laptops can have fewer ports and a plasticky build to keep the weight down. So if you don't need an ultra-light one, you can get more for your money.
  3. What screen size is right for me? If you don’t plan on taking your laptop out and about, go for a bigger screen size – from 15.6 to 17.3 inches.
  4. How much speed do I really need? Don’t overspend on a laptop that’s too powerful for your needs. If you only need your laptop to write up essays and take notes, you don’t need to splash out £1,000 on an ultra-premium, high-performance model. Similarly, you don’t want to underspend on a laptop that doesn't have the power you need if you’re going to be editing videos. 
  5. Which laptop brand is best for students? Knowing how long a laptop will last, which brands develop the most faults and when you can expect to see problems will help you choose a laptop that will last. Your laptop will need to keep up with you and last the duration of your course (and then some). We know which brands fit the bill as we asked almost 10,000 laptop owners to tell us about their devices. See the best laptop brands

Which operating system is best for students?

For many, the operating system you want will simply be the one you're used to. But here are some pros and cons to keep in mind.

  • MacOS: A popular choice in academic settings, particularly with creative courses. It might take some getting used to if you've previously had Windows. Most popular Windows software will have MacOS versions (including Microsoft Office), although Windows is the platform of choice for many gamers. The main con is that Apple MacBooks don't come cheap.
  • Windows: Plenty of software and doesn't have any major downsides, other than not being part of the Apple ecosystem – a bonus if you have other Apple products, such as an iPhone. If you're on a very tight budget, you won't find many good Windows 11 laptops below £400.
  • ChromeOS: A more limited operating system. You use online apps to do your work, although many popular apps such as Microsoft Office are available. It's the platform of choice for many budget buyers, since ChromeOS doesn't require powerful hardware. However, it won't be for everyone: some courses may require software that isn't available for Chromebooks. Plus, being online-focused means you're expected to pay a subscription for cloud storage – many Chromebooks aren't generous with the amount of built-in storage they offer.

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How much should you spend on a student laptop?

Generally speaking, these are the prices you can expect to pay when buying a new laptop. This should help you to avoid spending more than you need to, or, indeed, underpaying for a laptop that won't meet your needs. The last thing you need when you're trying to study is a student laptop that's too slow and impacts your productivity. 

  • Basic note-taking and occasional documents: £200-300 should be enough for a Chromebook, or £350-400 for a Windows 11 laptop. Look out for Intel Core 3/i3-powered Windows 11 laptops and Chromebooks. 
  • Heavy web browsing, documents: £400-500 will net you an Intel Core i3/AMD Ryzen 3 laptop with at least 8GB Ram. Pay for 16GB Ram if you can and a higher spec processor, to help future-proof your laptop.
  • Editing photos, videos: Beyond £500 you can start looking at laptops with Intel Core 5/i5 and AMD Ryzen 5 that are capable of editing photos and videos without much lag. If you'll be doing this intensively on your course, then consider an Intel Core 7/i7 or AMD Ryzen 7 – models with these tend to cost from £800.
  • Gaming: A good gaming laptop will set you back at least £600, and more for models with dedicated graphics cards (such as Nvidia graphics). The more you spend, the better graphics settings you can run your games with.

Student laptop deals

Best deals on the best laptops for students

Read our tips below to get the best deal on your new laptop, or check our pick of laptop deals from major retailers.

If you’re looking for a higher-end laptop — perhaps you’re doing a course that requires video or photo editing, for example —  Apple and Microsoft both offer discounts to students.

  • The Microsoft Store website offers a discount of up to 10% to students (and parents) buying devices from its Microsoft Surface laptop range, including the Surface Laptop, Surface Pro or Surface Book. Bear in mind the discount might not apply if there’s already another offer on the product you’re buying. Students at eligible institutions can also get Office 365 free. See Microsoft's student deals.
  • Apple offers up to 10% off all new Apple products and iPad models to university students and parents buying for them, as well as teachers and other staff. Depending on the time of year, you'll see bonuses like discounted AppleCare+ or an Apple Store gift card. Go to the Apple educational site.

Many other laptop brands also offer discounts if you buy direct from their online stores — check before you buy. For example:

While you can get some great discounts directly from most laptop brands, other online retailers might have better prices on products, and might be doing their own limited-time student (or non-student) deals.

Alternatively, you can save money and get a good model if you're willing to consider buying a second-hand or refurbished laptop. Many laptops only stay on the market for a year, but models we score highly and are only a year or two old are often still very good choices.


Backpack gone missing with your coursework inside? Know what to do if your laptop gets stolen


We test laptops more thoroughly than anyone else

Expert tests to find the best laptop for students

Which? laptop tests go further than those carried out by other organisations. Our dedicated lab technicians assess more than 100 laptops a year, meaning they know better than anyone else how to sort the diamonds from the duds — and not leaving any stone unturned. 

Plus, Which? is independent and doesn't accept advertising or freebies, so you can trust our reviews for the full, honest and impartial truth about a product. We won't shy away from criticising an awful product, as we don't rely on brands sending us samples to test (we buy all the laptops we test, unlike other sites).

When testing laptops in the Which? test lab, we monitor, measure and test against more than 260 different criteria to ensure we have every base covered. This includes everything from battery life and screen brightness to button dimensions and USB data transfer rate. You might not have thought of it, but our lab will make sure everything's in order for you.

Whether you're a student who has to submit essays, video-editing projects or graphic design assignments, we've comprehensively tested the laptop to suit you. See our expert laptop reviews.